Shock & Awe
by Silver Spider
Summary: Set between “Drifted Sparks Reimagining” and “Sparks of Salvation” that's coming soon, this fic captures the various reactions the Maximals have to Optimus' return.


_**Author's Note:**_ This is another experiment of mine writing from first person pov – something I don't normally do – and also a way for me to explore each character individually. Enjoy and please review!

**Shock & Awe**

**By: Silver Spider**

**Rattrap**

How could you, boss monkey?

You can't keep doing this ta us.

Alive, dead, then alive, then dead again, and so on and on. Pick one already. We're tired of mourning you.

That didn't come out right.

It ain't like like we're not happy ta have you back. We are. Well, I am. Can't really speak for everyone. Don't know what's goin' on in their heads these days. Speakin' of which, what's goin' on in yours? You're keepin' strange company now a day. Sure we're tryin' ta see the good in everyone, but that's a bit much, don't cha' think?

I gotta say, I'm havin' a hard time swallowin' this. Look, I trust ya and all. You've saved my tail enough times for me to get that no matter how crazy some of the stuff ya spout sounds, you're usually right on de money. Also kinda hard to argue wit' someone who's pretty much ascended to Primus-like status. How's the weather up there, by the way?

Yeah, yeah, I know I babble. Point is, I trust ya, but...

I just wish ya'd talk to us.

* * *

**Blackarachnia**

How could you, Primal?

You know, when I came to you Maximals, I thought I was joining a team whose leader won't screw them over.

Silly me.

Slag you, Primal. Slag you to the Inferno, and this time I hope you stay there.

Seriously, though, if it was just me, I might deal with it. Somehow Megatron just doesn't inspire the same kind of fear once you've been on the other end of Tarantulas' 'fun'. What's the worst he can do? Kill me? Been there, done that, bought the T-shirt. Death isn't that scary, either, after you've tried it a couple times. Like I said, if it were just me, I'd deal.

But it's not just me.

It's Rattrap and Nightscream, Cheetor and Silverbolt.

Cheetor worshiped the ground you walked on. He trusted you, and you pissed on that trust. You made my little brother cry, Primal. I won't soon forgive that. And Silverbolt... you might not feel what this is doing to him, but I do. Feel free to venture a guess. You don't have to be terribly creative. You know what that bastard put him through.

I know there's usually a method to your madness, but I'm telling you now, you're going to have a hell of a time selling this one.

* * *

**Silverbolt**

How could you, Optimus?

I have heard it said that guilt is a wasted emotion. If that is the case, I have been indulging for far too long. I cannot change the past. The others – Blackarachnia especially – would not fault me for this, though the warrior-hero that I had been in the Beast Wars would be appalled at the admission. I do admit it though:

I bear more hatred for Megatron for what he did to me than for the atrocities he committed on Cybertron. And now...

Now you, too, are a target of that hatred for bringing him back into our lives.

I will listen to what you have to say, but I cannot imagine anything could change my mind on the matter. Do not claim divine calling, Optimus. I do not know if I ever believed in Primus. I must have. A belief in fate, in a higher power goes well with the man I once was. I doubt I believe in it now. I fight for my love, for my friends, but I cannot honestly claim any higher ideals than those.

So speak your piece, but do not expect to be welcomed back with open arms. You have sown the wind. Be prepared to reap the whirlwind.

* * *

**Nightscreamg**

How could you, Optimus?

After seeing the scrap-yards, the hollow shells, the twisted pieces of metal, how could you?

Back when we were still in Washington, this anime – it's a Japanese cartoon – was on TV. I started watching it half way through. Didn't really understand what was going on except there was a bomb and people who either liquefied or just... disappeared. I thought it was just a cartoon – a really scary cartoon – but Blackarachnia told me it really happened here. I had nightmares for days after that.

The thing is, no matter how bad the humans had it, it was nothing like what Megatron did on Cybertron. The genocide of an entire planet, an entire race. I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't been there. I think I'm scared that if I talk about it – even think about it – it'll all be real again. I'll be back on en empty Cybertron, alone and scared and hiding.

After I saw you and _him_ in that hallway, the nightmares came back.

Only it wasn't just random humans or even bots I didn't know. This time it was my friends, my family, mutilated and lifeless. I curled up in a ball and cried until I passed out again. Thank Primus I was to tired to dream.

I took a chance, followed you to the end, and what in the Pit was it all for?

Tell me, Optimus. Tell me what we bleed and died for?

* * *

**Cheetor**

How could you, Big bot?

How could you do this to us? To me?

Explain it to me, and don't tell me I'm young, that I wouldn't understand.

I'm not as young as I used to be. Two wars and a whole mess of other slag made sure of that. The Technorganic War was the most trying time in my life – I think most of us can say that. It forced me to grow and grow fast. Sometimes I feel so ancient; the burden of a receptive spark. Most of the time I wish I was still just a stupid kid.

Rattrap and Blackarachnia tell me I have a Rodimus Prime complex. That I constantly question myself because I stepped – or was thrust into – the shoes of a great leader. It's true: I never thought I would come closer to measuring up to you, and now this...

Is this the price of leadership? The price of a receptive spark? Does there come a point where you honestly believe you can do no wrong and forget where you come from? If so, I want no part in it.

My heart hurts.

I never imagined this, not in my wildest dreams or worst nightmares. You were my leader, my friend, my mentor, the closest thing I had to a father. You trusted me enough to place that which was most precious to you in my care: our friends, our family, our team. You trusted me to protect them.

And I _will_ protect them.

At any cost.


End file.
